cover image Robin and Her Misfits

Robin and Her Misfits

Kelly Ann Jacobson. Three Rooms, $14 paper (278p) ISBN 978-1-953103-31-4

Jacobson (Tink and Wendy) reimagines Robin Hood as 18-year-old Robin, fearless leader of the Merry Misfits, a band of queer teens, in this rousing heist adventure. While the five teens know nothing about each other’s pasts, choosing to keep their personal histories hidden, they live together at secret Florida hideaway Nottingham, supporting themselves by committing daring highway robberies. When one such job brings Robin face-to-face with parts of her former life, the repercussions cause the group to split up, each member pursuing her own destiny. Five sections featuring alternating perspectives follow Robin, Shakespeare-quoting Daisy Chain, Robin’s best friend Little John, getaway driver Skillet, and hacker White Rabbit. Each girl struggles to break free from individual traumas and outrun dogged pursuers, until they reunite for one last job. The characters’ distinctive voices provide intriguing variety—White Rabbit’s perspective is rendered exclusively via lightning-paced emails—especially as later segments provide new context for earlier goings-on. Jacobson’s take on the well-known tale, told through a cinematic plotline, centers themes of found family and queer love. Most characters read as white. Ages 14–up. (Apr.)